Protected blade



March 19, 1940.

H. A. susTAFsoN PROTECTED BLADE Filed lay 9. 1935 March 19, 1940. a. A. GUSTAFSON rnpwncmn amps Filed lay 9, 1935 2, Sheets-Sheet 2 i blades by the user,

Patented Mar. 19, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Henry A. Gustafson,

to Gillette Safety Dorchester, Mass., assignor Razor Company, Boston,

Mass., a corporation of Delaware Application May 9, 1935, Serial No. 20,623

8 Claims.

This invention relates to the packaging for distribution of fine-edged blades, such for example, as safety razor blades. It consists in a blade protected by a novel cover sheet, and a a method of thus protecting blades and of assembling them into a commercial package.

I In handling safety razor blades under commercial conditions of transportation and distribution and in the more or less casual treatment of such of the blade is likely to become dulled by being brought into contact with its wrapping or with other objects before it can be'actually clamped in shaving position in the razor. On this account the best and most skillful efforts of the manufacturer in sharpening blades are often brought to naught because of the damage done to the very fragile and delicate structure of the blade edge after it has been brought to the keenest possible shaving condition and before the shaving operation is actually undertaken.

With these conditions in object of the present invention is to provide a novel cover sheet in which each blade may be enclosed and held in such position that its cutting edge is not only protected from direct contact with externalobjects but is prevented from rubbing against any part of the wrapping.

I have discovered that by shaping a cover sheet 0 in a novel manner it maybe folded about one end of the blade and secured in position by interfolding parts of the cover sheet so that the blade is securely positioned between superposed leaves which project beyond the cutting edge of 35 the blade in overlapping but unconnected relation. The cutting edge, therefore, lies between the superposed leaves and these are connected at the extremely fine keen edge view an important of the folded cover sheet opposite ends of the blade independently of its.

cutting edge. A more important field of use of my invention is in protecting and packaging razor blades having corner recesses which define elongated unsharpened portions in each end of the blade and internal apertures for the reception of the blade-locating projections of the razor. As

herein shown the cover sheet is slotted to register substantially with the perforation of the blade so that the protectedblade may be assembled with others on gauge pins or-positionedppon the blade-positioning projections of -a safety razor without in any way interfering with the cover sheet. .Under such conditions the protected blade may be fully positioned within the safety razor before the protective cdver is withdrawn and consequently the blade against the razor cap or other part is phdanger of drawing the edge of the viated. Having once positioned the blade in the razor so that it is held in place therein the protective cover may be removed by merely pulling it endwise.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention 5 one end of the cover sheet is shaped to provide a projecting tongue and the other end is shaped to provide one or more ears which may be folded over the projecting-tongue to wrap the two ends together and upon an 10 interposed blade. Various other expedients may be utilized for holding the blade in place between 4 the cover sheets as by bending tongues out of the body of the sheet in such position as to pass through the blade perforations and become interfolded with a part of the blade.

An important feature of the novel cover of my invention consists in a single ply tab which may be cut from the body of one leaf of the cover sheet and extended outwardly beyond the con- 2 tour of the folded sheet. Such tabs may be utilized to hold a plurality of protected blades in a stack with the tabs superposed for the reception of a staple or other fastener. It has been found that the individual protected blade may out of such a stacker package without danger of destroying or tearing the cover so as prematurely to expose a portion of the blade. This is accounted for to some extent by the fact that the single ply material of the tab is more easily torn 0 than the doubled material of the cover sheet so that the tab tears while the cover sheet remains intact. I

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the fol- 5 lowing description of preferred embodiments thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. l is a view in perspective of a package of protected blades with the outer cover of the 40 package open;

Fig. 2 is a view in perspective of an individual protected blade as torn from the package of Fig. 1

Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the protected 45 blades in inverted and reversed position together with the tab torn therefrom;

Fig. 4 is a view in perspective of a safety razor with a protected blade in place therein and the protective cover partially withdrawn from the 50 blade;

Fig. 5 is a view in perspective of the cover sheet in condition to be folded upon a blade;

Fig. 6 is a view in perspective illustrating the steps of assembling the individual protected 55 be tom 5 blades and securing them together in package form; and

Figs. 7 and 8 illustrate blades enclosed in cover sheets of modified form.

I have shown in Figs. 1 to 6 a preferred form of cover sheet and one manner of enclosing and packaging therein a well-known commercial safety razor blade, and will proceed first to describe my invention from this standpoint. The blade 24 is thin, flexible, double-edged, provided in each of its corners with a rectangular recess and these recesses collectively define elongated unsharpened portions or extensions at each end of they blade. The blade is also provided with an internal slot having spaced enlargements therein and the slot or its enlargements are adapted to receive blade-locating projections of various shapes in different types of safety razor.

The cover sheet, as best shown in Fig. 5, comprises an elongated strip of waxed paper or the like, centrally notched to indicate a fold line which as herein shown is further defined by a line of perforations it. One portion or leaf IU of the cover sheet is provided with an elongated slot l2 so shaped and located as to register with the slot of the blade and clear the enlargements therein. At its outer end the leaf I0 is provided with a centrally disposed outwardly projecting tongue H. A tab I3 is outlined in the body of the leaf to but is connected at its base to the cover sheet substantially at the perforated line It. The tab l3 may besubstantially rectangular or slightly tapering outwardly from its base. The other portion or leaf l5 of the cover sheet is provided with an elongated slot 58 located to register with the slot i2 and with a flap it at its outer end, slitted to define a pair of transversely foldable ears ll. As shown in Fig. 5, the ears I? are set off by scored lines from the flap I6 but this is not necessary in all cases. The flap I 6 and the tongue ii are substantially the same width and coincide nearly in width to the unsharpened elongated end portions of the blade to be wrapped.

In protecting a blade of the type shown in Fig. 2 the blade is deposited upon the portion I5 of the cover sheet with the end shoulders of its recesses substantially coinciding with the fold line H and its elongated end portion overlying the tab l3. With the blade in this position the leaf I0 is folded upwardly over the vertex determined by the shoulders of the blade and then downwardly over the end of the blade, the tab l3 remaining in a flat condition. When the, tongue II has been brought into registration with the tab I 6 the two ears I! are folded inwardly about the tongue H, thus wrapping the elongated unsharpened portion at the other end of the blade between them. If waxed paper is employed as material for the cover sheet nothing is needed beyond adequate folding pressure, although, if desired, the ears may be sealed in place'by the application of heat. An individual protected blade is shown in Fig. 2 and from this figure it will be apparent that the blade 24 is locked against transverse displacement by the position of the cover folds with respect to the unsharpened elongated portions at opposite ends of the blade and that the two leaves of the cover sheet project in edge-free relation outwardly beyond the cutting edge of the blade in position to act as fenders for the cutting edge in the manipulation of the blade. Further. the central slotted portion of ti blade is left fully exposed on both sides for i the reception of the blade-locating studs of the razor by the superposed slots l2 and I 8 in the leaves of the cover.

The protected blade may be distributed individually in this form if desired, but it is usually preferred to assemble five of these protected blades in a stack and secure them together for use in a commercial package. The operation of as sembling such a stack of blades is suggested in Fig. 6. where a portion of a rotatable turret 30 is shown. The.turret is provided with radially disposed pairs of guide pins 3| having rounded ends and being of such diameter as to register with spaced enlargements of the perforations in the blade. The operator places the protected blades one by one upon a set of guide pins 3| until a stack of five have been accumulated. The turret is rotated in a step by step manner by mechanism not herein shown. At one station it is provided with a fastener inserting machine 32 which is herein shown as provided with a driver 33 for inserting a staple 34 in the superposed tabs l3 of the protected blade covers. Accordingly the turret 30 is advanced to present a stack of protected blades properly to the driving mechanism and the staple 34 is inserted and clinched. Subsequently the turret is rotated another step to a station at which the stapled package may be removed for insertion in such covers 20 as shown in Fig. l and a new stack presented to the stapling machine.

In making the package of Fig. 1 a strip of cardboard is folded to form the cover 20 and a staple 2| is driven through its superposed free ends and the tabs #3 of the individual protected blades. The folded end of the cover 20 is perforated in two lines near its fold vertex so that the end portion 22 may be easily torn off in opening the package.

In Fig. 4 is suggested the operation of placing a protected blade in a safety razor and of removing the cover therefrom. The safety razor includes a pair of pivotally mounted cap sections 25 which are shown herein in their open position and are arranged to be swung inwardly to flex and clamp the blade in shaving position, as will be well understood. The razor is also provided with a centrally disposed blade-locating bar 28 with which the slot of the blade 24 is adapted to register. The individual blade is torn from the package shown in Fig. 1 along the line defining the base of the tab l3, leaving the tab behind it in the package. The protected blade is then placed in position in the safety razor and in this operation the edges of the cover act as fenders and so prevent the sharp edges of the blade from being brought into contact with the cap sections 25. After the protected blade has been fully positioned in the razor the user may withdraw the cover by merely pulling the end of the cover including the interfolded tongue II and flap 16. The cover thereupon is drawn longitudinally over the blade and this is done without the .necessity of any further tearing because the ends of the cover slots I 2 and I8 have been opened in tearing the protected blade from its package. It will thus be seen that the blade is fully protected in distribution and use up'to the point of being actually located for shaving in the safety razor and it is only exposed when all danger is past of dulling its cutting edges.

It will be observed that the blade is securely locked in position within the cover shown in Figs. 1 to 6 by engagement of the latter over the shoulders of the blade recesses and thus positively prevented from shifting transversely in its cover. 1

- Bland 62, the leaf Gll'having In Figs. 7 and 8 are suggested alternative constructions of locking the tongues passing through the internal aperture of the blade. The cover shown in Fig. 7 comprises two leaves and 52 which are slotted to register with the blade aperture, the slot 5| of the leaf 50 including the space left by the tab 53 corresponding to the tab I3 already discussed. In this case, a pair of tongues 54 are brought up through the blade slot and turned outwardly about the straight end edges of the slot so that they lie upon the upper surface of the blade and are thus interfolded therewith. The tongues 5| are of a width substantially to fill the end of the blade slot so that they act to prevent movement of the blade either longitudinally or laterally within its cover. Protected blades like those. shown in Fig. 7 may be dispensed singly or may be secured in a stack by a staple driven either through the overlapping free ends of the cover or through the tabs 53.

The 'cover shown in Fig. 8 comprises the leaves the slot SI and the tab 63 cut therefrom. In this case fou'r tongues 64 are brought up through the blade aperture in the endmost enlargement thereof and are turned outwardly from the oppositely disposed end walls of the surface of the blade. The tongues 64, therefore, serve to hold the blade 24 securely in position with its sharpened edges inside the contour of the protective cover.

The novel method of packaging blades above described is not herein claimed but forms the sub-' ject matter of Patent No. 2,058,147, granted October 20, 1936, on a divisional application.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A protected double-edged blade internally apertured for engagement with locating projections of a safety razor and having elongated unsharpened portions'at each end, the blade being enclosed between the leaves of a folded sheet cover having a tongue in one gated portion at one end of the blade and ears in the other leaf folded about the said portion and tongue. I 2. An apertured blade having corner recesses defining elongated portions at each end thereof, and a cover sheet folded about one end of the blade and having on one leaf a projecting tongue overlying one of said end portions and on the other leaf ears which are folded over said projecting tongue and end portion of the blade.

3. A protected blade having corner blade in position by these enlargements and upon .tecting cover having leaf overlying the elonwrapped about the defining elongated end portions, and a cover sheet folded over the shoulders of the recesses at one end of the blade and projecting beyond the shoulders of the recesses at the other end of the blade, one leaf of the cover having a tongue registered with the end portion of the blade and the other leaf having ears folded over said tongue and end portion.

4. A double edged blade having corner recesses defining elongated end portions in the blade, and a cover sheet doubled over one end of the blade and engagedgin the recesses at that end of the blade, one leaf of the cover having a tongue regi'stering with the elongated portion at the other end of the blade and the other leaf having an ear folded inwardly over said tongue.

5. A protected blade having end shoulders and an elongated internal aperture terminating at both ends in a straight edge, and a protective cover folded over the shoulder at one end of the blade, slotted in both leaves to register with the blade aperture, ing from one leaf through each end of the. aperture and turned outwardly over the end edges thereof.

6. A protected blade having end shoulders and an elongated aperture with spaced enlargements therein terminating in straight end walls, a protective cover folded over the shoulder at one end of the blade, and oppositely disposed tongues extending from one leaf within the aperture and turned outwardly over the surface of the blade about the end walls of the enlargements of the aperture. n v v 7. A safety razor blade centrally slotted'and having shoulders and end portions projecting beyond its shoulders, in combination with a prolongitudinally slotted leaves folded upon said shoulders at one end of the blade, the slots in the leaves being superposed and exposing the slotted center portion of the blade, and the blade being interfolded with, and thus attached adjacent to its other end to, at least one of the cover leaves.

8. A safety razor blade centrally slotted and having shoulders defining short unsharpened end extensions, in combination with a protecting cover having longitudinally slotted leaves and folded transversely upon said shoulders at one end of the blade, the leaves of the cover being other end extension thus holding the blade against transverse displacement, and the slots in the leaves being superposed and exposing the slotted center portion of the blade. 7

v HENRY A. GUBTAFSON.

and having tongues extend-. 

